Philadelphia could see resurgence of spotted lanternflies this year, entomologist says
It's been more than 10 years since spotted lanternflies landed in Pennsylvania, likely arriving on goods shipped from their native home in Southeast Asia.
Since then, the invasive species has spread to at least 18 states, causing billions of dollars in agricultural damage. While spotted lanternfly sightings in the Philadelphia area have decreased over the last couple of years, a resurgence could occur soon.
There are more than 100,000 different species of insects housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Still, entomologist Greg Cowper says none of them have received more attention in recent years than the Lycorma delicatula, more commonly known as the spotted lanternfly.
"We did not have any spotted lanternflies in the collection until they arrived in Berks County," Cowper said. "It's just a beautiful group. It's too bad that these guys are such pests."
After arriving in Berks County in 2014, spotted lanternflies quickly spread to every surrounding county, leading to scenes where trees are overtaken.
"In years gone by, I mean, you literally were like ankle deep in them practically," Cowper said. "That didn't happen the last couple of years."
Like many other insects, Cowper says spotted lanternflies are cyclical, meaning their populations experience years of boom and bust, depending on several environmental factors.
After several down years, Cowper says spotted lanternflies are primed for a population explosion.
"All the signs are there that there's probably going to be another resurgence of the spotted lanternfly," Cowper said. "I don't think we'll ever have them ankle deep again. No, that's not going to happen, but we might see more of them than we saw last year, this year.
That could spell trouble, and not only for the trees in your yard, but also for numerous industries that have already been severely impacted by these pests, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages each year.
"They attack grapes, and they attack other agricultural crops," Cowper said. "They attack stone fruit. They attack hardwood trees. So yeah, they could easily be a problem again."
So, what can we do?
The advice from experts remains the same. When you come across spotted lanternflies, kill as many as you can. It's not easy when they're nymphs or adults because they can hop and fly, so it's best to destroy their eggs, which are laid in masses during the fall.
